“I don’t have that much authority on Tagore but yes I have a wonderful surname. It’s my heritage and it has opened many doors for me. It’s a privilege to be born in such a household. He unfortunately died three years before I was born so I could not have any direct interaction with him. But I have heard great stories from my mother,” she said.

The 70-year-old actress today launched a book on the world famous literary figure titled “Shades of Difference: Selected Writings of Rabindranath Tagore”, which is accompanied by a DVD about Tagore and his world. It has been edited by Radha Chakravarty.

Talking about the bard’s influence, Sharmila said her 1960 Bengali film “Devi” was highly inspired by Tagore’s works.

The Satyajit Ray-directed film was based on a short story by Prabhatkumar Mukhopadhya and Sharmila said the theme of the movie’s story reflected Tagore’s portrayal of women and has similarities with the bard’s literary offerings.

“My film ‘Devi’… the idea was from Tagore’ s works. The theme was similar. The great thing about Tagore is that he continues to be relevant,” Sharmila said.